Sunday Morning Open Thread: Five Questions
Chris Davis circles the bases after mashing a solo home run on Thursday, June 18th.1. What all-encompassing letter grade would you assign Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington based upon both his clubhouse impact and tactical ability (e.g. lineup construction, bullpen management, et al.)?
2. Are the last-week struggles of the Rangers' pitching staff attributable to fatigue (worrisome), random variance (unconcerning) or something more sinister?
3. Forget the "if" qualifier with respect to Chris Davis supplanting Hank Blalock at first base -- when is it going to happen? Moreover, why hasn't it happened yet?
4. Was the apparent $2-3 million chasm between Texas and first-round pick Matt Purke at the signing deadline indicative of an error in judgment on the part of the Rangers in selecting Purke in the first place?
5. Assuming that the Rangers were to prove successful in securing a post-season berth (the odds of which have plunged into sub-30 percent territory) and Ivan Rodriguez, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Taylor Teagarden were all healthy enough to handle the catching position, whom -- if anybody -- would you exclude from your hypothetical post-season roster?
42 Comments | in Open Thread, The Season
Reader Comments (42)
1. B
2. Fatugue - but, to be more specific, DL & depth.
3. As soon as management realizes they have a better chance of winning next year.
3b. Davis' '09 ML numbers.
4. Yes
5. Salty - but only in my opinion. If I had to guess management opinion I'd say Tea.
1) Locker Room - B+; In-game strategy - C-; Total - C+
2) Combination of all 3 ... this is where we'll find out if Nolan's conditioning edict actually worked or not; sometimes, the other team just plays better; playoff pressure has reared it's ugly head, and the kids are finally confronted with "expectations of success" ... how they measure up over the final weeks will tell a lot ... and bode well for 2010 and beyond ... this is the best thing that could happen to these kids this year.
3) It should happen on Monday's off day ... and AJ should be DFA'd and Blalock sent to the DL ... this time of year, under these circumstances, it's about production ... or, at least it should be ...
4) Sadly ... YES !!!
5) Salty - unless he makes a miraculous recovery and can throw ... if we make the playoffs, we need strong arms behind the plate ...
1) D... (He is probably ok in the locker room but his on-field decision making, especially leaving starters in when they are being battered and the game is on the line, is extremely questionable.
2) DL problems and some fatigue......
3) With the playoffs on the line Davis should be brought back up.....Jones should be DFA'd and Blalock benched.
4) Big mistake on the Rangers part!
5) Depends on Salty's shoulder problems......he would probably be the odd man out. But why not 3 catchers.....Pudge can be used off the bench and as a DH.........better than Jones.
1. A-
2. Fatigue...starting rotation no longer making it to the 7th or 8th inning lately.
3. When roster expands to 40. Maybe sooner, how many missed pick off attempts and foot pulled off the bag on high throws will it take?
4. No, considering Purke gave the impression that there would no issues signing shortly after getting selected.
5. Salty
1. At least a solid B. He doesn't get much credit for his in-game tactics, but frankly, he can leave that to his bench coach. It's less important than the overall atmosphere he creates.
2. Yes to all. The defense has been one of the greatest factors in the pitching improvement. Sometimes, the pitchers aren't able to do what they'd like to do, even with good defense, especially when they are stressed by a lot of innings, heat, pennant race, long season, etc. These guys have done well, but they aren't the 69 Mets.
3. It should already have happened, and should happen now.
4. Sounds like it, but it could be something more subtle.
5. I like Saltalamacchia, but he has the look of a guy that needs to go to OKC and get straightened out. Also, you want guys behind the plate with healthy arms.
1. Can't ignore that they are 68-54 and in the WC hunt. Ron's line up machinations can make you scratch your head and his reasoning why he won't bat Elvis leadoff makes me believe he overthinks things. His bullpen management is better this year. It helps that the starters have pitched deeper into games. I like the aggressive basestealing the Rangers have been doing this year. But they do need a better approach at the plate. Overall grade B+.
2. The Rangers pitching trouble are both fatigue and random variance. It is August. Everyone is wearing down a bit.
3. When and why hasn't Davis been recalled yet? Might be easier to win the lottery. I don't think he has been calle dback up yet because there is not a clear corresponding roster move. They are not going to DFA Hank or AJ. And they won't ask either to go on the DL with an "injury". Murphy has an option remaining but I am not sure they want to use it for this situation.
4. No. You expect draftee to negotiate. They Purkes didn't.
5. Pudge and TT. Right now.
Agree with Rob (above) on everything except Wash's grade. I'd give him a C. I really think the team has been a winner in spite of him. I don't think he handles mid-game strategy well at all, and there's the stubborness about the lineup, too.
1) C. Wash needs to learn not to over manage the bullpen and wait too late to take struggling starters out. Plus his use of pinch-hitters and sometimes lineup is questionable.
2) Millwood might be fatigued, but I am hoping some of the issues are just random variance. After the AS break, the team ERA was one of the best in baseball. We might know for sure in a couple to several weeks.
3) I too, I am over Flailock (Blalock) and his often one-dimensional batting approach. I just hope the Davis that comes back up isn't the same (K)ris Davis. Can he at least hit .250?
4) Yes. You should have known when your were handcuffed by your incompetent owner you couldn't afford to shell out enough money to get the kid to skip college.
5) Teagarden. When you're struggling to hit .200, that's never good. And his defense isn't something I'd want to write home about. Pudge should retire a Ranger, like he says he wants to. He'd be useful as a starting catcher, back-up, DH, pinch-hitter on days off.
1. B+-The man has them at a place no one expected, with Hamilton and Kisler sucking, Blalock and Jones being even worse.
2. The BP is stating to wear down b/c he only trusts CJ, FF and DOD-with good reason. Jennings and Guardado Have been terrible for the most part, and injuries to some guys has hurt as well.
3. Possible reasons? Wanting to make sure the adjustments he has made are fully ingrained, don't want to upset the "room", trying to show some loyalty to a veteran-just WAGs.
Needs to happen yesterday, though!
4. Thought he would come down in negotiation, but nope! They went high risk/high reward and missed this time. gotta sign Scheppers now!
5. If Salts is healthy, TT gets left off.
1. B- Has team in playoff hunt, but do not understand his way of handling bull pen, Also why he believes "pop up" Kinsler is top of order batter.
2. Fatigue a little, having some with no idea of how to be bullpen pitchers is better problem
3.Needs to happen now, but problem is how and who do you lose or let go
4.Think problem was with Purke thinking he is worth more than has proven, now he gonna go to college and get over used or get hurt and loose out on all money. Come on kid what real diff between 4 mill and 6 mill not like you ever spend it all
5. Let Salty sit if cant throw it back to pitcher
1. sorry, he gets an F club room is ok, but he is not here to win friends. just games.
2. some fatigue, compounded by lack of management/handling the staff. (F)
3. CD should have been here 3 weeks ago. Manager should have requested him. (F)
4. Looks like the owner was trying to save $$$. and his face Hicks gets an F also.
5. At this time, Salty, we dont need any problems in the playoffs.
1. C minus. I appreciate his ability to get everyone rowing the boat in unison and in one direction. That's huge. But his in game abilities are marginal to poor at best. It's my position that this team wins on talent level and in spite of curious line-up decisions and in game moves.
2. Hitting the proverbial wall in August is not abnormal, certainly given the workload. However, the manager has to recognize the signs and adjust accordingly, hopefully in a more timely manner. This one should straighten itself out if managed correctly.
3. I never cease to be amazed at the tempestuous nature of the blogosphere. Davis/ Smoak, Blalock/Davis. My head hurts.
4. Have to say yes. They misjudged that Purke and family would actually believe they were worth Porcello money, and that it wasn't merely a negotiating ploy to set the bar for negotiation.
5. If health issues don't make the decision for them, then leave Jones off playoff roster, carry 3 catchers.
1. I question some of the lineup moves during a game, but this team is doing the right direction. Is that Washington's managerial efforts or Daniel and Ryan's ability to build this team internally? I give Washington a "B" this year (so far)
2. Young pitching staff. Maybe a bit nervous in the stretch drive.
3. Davis is the future, right? When he returns he'd better be hitting the ball. This Ranger team needs Davis at 1b and to be hitting if they are to contend.
4. 18 year old kid turns that much money? No thanks. He can prove himself at TCU because he hasn't struck out anyone except high school players anyway. Big deal. Move on.
5. Teagarden has go to start hitting or it's Pudge in the playoffs. I'd like to see Pudge return next year (DH maybe?).
1. I am sure there have been worse in game mangers, but I don't know of one. No other manager in baseball would have Murphy in the 3 hole and Cruz on the bench. Overall: C
2. Combo of all. There is no way they are as good as they have been in 6 weeks after break.
3. When: Soon Why: No clue
4. Obviously, but they took a chance it didn't work, that OK.
5. I they are all healthy: Teagarden
Wow. So most of you guys think you could do Wash's job better than he does (by job I'm referring to the bulk of the criticism - handling of pitching, lineups, subs, and strategy)? And most of you have graded him between a "C" and an "F" - despite the fact that the team is 14 games over .500 in late August, and despite the fact that their pitching staff is comprised mostly of rookies or extremely green players (many of whom have never been regarded as top talent), the offense has been pitiful (the starting 1B was so bad he was demoted to AAA), Josh Hamilton has 8 home runs and 41 rbi with only 40 games left to play, and on and on.
But I guess we should give credit elsewhere and heap all the blame for the things that have not gone well on Washington's shoulders, eh?
I've said this before, and I should predicate what I'm about to say with the fact that I am a white guy. From my perspective, Washington has never been accepted here, never been given credit for anything he's done that's been positive, and always receives all the blame when things aren't perfect or when the team loses. The only exceptions are when fans last year blamed Connors for what happened with McCarthy, and this year where some fans are actually starting to call for Rudy's firing.
Considering how terrible the team has been, and how they have improved each year Wash has led them, all I can conclude is that the general populous has an irrational disdain for him, which might very much be based on the fact that (1) he's black, and (2) he's not well-spoken.
Having lived in the DFW metroplex for a number of years, this would not surprise me in the least, as I have found this area to be one of the most openly racist places I have ever encountered, in the matter of white attitudes towards blacks in general.
1. For his clubhouse impact, I'd give Wash an A, but for his tactical ability he gets a B-. He's not nearly as bad with his decision making as some would have us believe, but he's certainly not perfect.
2. Of course I can't know with 100% certainty, but I'd say it's mostly random variance with a little bit of fatigue thrown in to the pot. It worries and frustrates me, but not too much.
3. It should have happened after his first three weeks at OKC. Now I think they've waited so long that it won't happen until our September call-ups. I have no idea why it hasn't happened yet outside of their blind loyalty to Tankin' Hank.
4. Yes, It looks like they would've had a much easier time signing Shelby Miller. Perhaps Daniels and our draft team weren't fully informed on the state of the club's financial affairs. It looks to me like they were told simply to draft the best player available which I believe they did.
5. I would leave Salty off the roster. It's not that I dislike him, I just think that he should get his rest and get right for next season.
1. I give Mike Maddux more credit than Washington for the Rangers' performance this year. Maddux = A; Washington = C. Wash should be a stronger advocate for Chris Davis and should have pressured JD to cut ties with Guardado and Jones months ago. Wash is a very simple and pleasant man.
2. Fatigue.
3. Davis will be called up September 1st. Why not earlier? JD and Wash have been too timid to cut ties with Andruw Jones and Hank Blalock.
4. The Purkes duped the Rangers to believe the kid was humble and signable.
5. Salty needs the remainder of the season to heal. He will not be an effective catcher until the spring.
1. B-; A solid A for getting the team to play hard, yet a D for who he decides to play and where he decides to play them.
2. Random variance. Millwood, Hunter, and Feldman were greatly outperforming their peripherals or their stuff and they were bound to come down to earth sooner or later.
3. Will happen this week. It should have happened a couple of weeks ago. I suspect it hasn't happened yet because they wanted to make sure that Davis had really made the necessary adjustments and because Wash really wants Blalock.
4. No error in judgment. They took a chance (with virtually no downside) that they would be able to talk him down from his price. They couldn't, so now they get pick #14 in 2010. No big deal.
5. It would depend on who's been playing the best through the month of September.
Jim, the advancement of all races and genders to positions of authority, power, influence, etc. was long overdue and while still evolving, is progress all but maybe 1% of us agree with.
What hasn't seemed to evolve nearly as progressively is the ability of some to accept criticism on its face without regard to stereotypical roles as they have assigned them.
Seems to me people have a right to differing/dissenting opinions without being accused of bigotry. As regards racism, prejudice, et al, speak for yourself.
1. B+...Clubhouse impact an A and tactical prowess a B-
2. Im tempted to say fatigue. I think especially true with Millwood. I think Hunter and Nippert may be getting settled in and are going to be prone to more valleys along with the peaks. I also think opponents are able to start putting together more concisive scouting reports as well. However, every other teams pitchers are wearing down a little bit as it happens at this point in the season. Thats when you either have to dig deep and go big or go home.
3. Hmmm, I say the sooner the better. Davis is doing well at 3A and Blalock is struggling. Why not??? See if he can keep form...Hanks not gonna be here next year anyway and he's not contributing much right now. I think JD is just waiting for his hand to be forced on this.
4. Ill say No. We already have the best farm, why not sign a high upside guy and hope we can make the deal work? I think it was worth the risk. Gotta ink Scheppers though.
5. It depends on how Taylor plays while Saltys out. Whoever is the better man plus Pudge.
Im only going to answer the first question.
1: F. Nothing he does makes sense, unless you think you have to have every single righty righty and lefty lefty matchup. It worked great last night for CJ huh? Hate to have Feliz finish out that last out.
Jim. You couldn't be any more wrong. Do you watch the games and look at the lineups? Does it always have to come back to race? I'm white. Big deal. Should our 4 hitter be Jones, who is hitting under .200 for the last couple months? That sure does offer some protection for out 2 and 3 hitters. He is fine with the pitching staff... until he gets to the bullpen. He over-manages. Like I said above, he basis almost every decision he makes on a match-up, not that fact that Feliz didnt give up a hit in 2.2 innings. Is the righty coming to the plate really that important. If he does get a hit, then go ahead and change, but you dont before then.
I do watch the games and understand the differences between players, etc. If you understand Wash, you know that he often goes by his gut, his hunches, and he likes to gamble. If you follow the games, you are aware that sometimes his gambles pay off, and sometimes they don't. What I've noticed, however, is that when the hunches & gambles pay off, no one ever gives him credit for winning. Yet conversely, when things don't go his way, he is always, 100% blamed for the outcome, no matter what. That seems fishy to me, and irrational. How am I to understand this phenomenon other than to attribute it to some attitude outside the game itself?
Another fine example is how during the past 2 seasons, when the defense was terrible, there was a universal outcry from fans that if Wash was supposed to be such a wonderful infield instructor, why was the defense so bad? (It couldn't be that the players weren't doing their jobs). Then, this season, when the offense has been a positive all season long, I have never heard anyone - not one fan on any of the major blogs - or any Rangers blogger or writer - give credit to Wash for that. Instead, the credit goes to Elvis. And once again, I have to admit that this is strange and irrational behavior, and I have to look for something outside the game to explain it.
So you may not personally have a problem with Wash that is rooted in racism, but all signs point to this being a definite problem in general within the greater fan base.
Once again I will point out the fact that most of the comments above have assigned mediocre to failing grades to Wash, despite the fact that he is the manager of the 5th best team in the AL - and he's doing that with arguably the least amount of established talent of any of the top teams. I find that strange and unsettling, and the fact that no one seems to be bothered by it only confirms my fears that something other than baseball opining is at work here in this almost universal dislike of Ron Washington.
*meant defense has been a positive all season long
Hey Jim, I don't like Wash either. C- is his grade from me. And Elvis has a lot to do with better defense this year. If it was because of Wash, why didn't he fix it after the first year of last place defense, or in the middle of the second straight year of last place defense? And I'm an indifferent opinion, Hispanic.
I'm not worried about the pitching just yet, I think they have been mismanaged the last week or so.
As for Davis, he shoulda been here already and I hope he's here soon. Blalock should be DH/1B and Jones should be DFA'd. He's probably not here because some of our management want to keep the veteran's happy, don't want to ruin clubhouse chemistry. Winning, making the playoffs will improve chemistry.
It was an error in judgement but what other option did they have? MLB limited their offer to $2.7ish million even though they tried offering $4 mil. Chances are that some of the other draft picks would have turned down the MLB/Rangers offer.
I would take Pudge and TT and split the time between who's hot. They both handle pitchers well and play excellent defense. Not to take anything away from Salty's improved D, but let him take some time off to think about things.
@Jim "matter of white attitudes towards blacks in general."
Jim, most folks on this site have given examples of why they didn't give Wash an A+ and I don't think it has anything to do with hatred, cross burning, or anything else. I think about 75% of the Ranger fandom want to pinch Elvis and Bourbon on the cheek and adopt them. Wake up and join the rest of us in the 21st century and save the Al Sharpton shit for somebody who thinks like you...
1. Wash gets a solid B for what he's been able to do with this club this season. He doesn't get the B+ because of his tendency to over/undermanage the game at times, but his presence in the clubhouse is respected by his players. Maddux and the other secondary coaches other than Rudy get an A.
2. Worrisome, yes but only alarming if they continue. Feldman had an excellent outing today so maybe we've seen the end of this.
3. At this point Davis doesn't come back up until September 1. Damn shame, too.
4. I wouldn't place blame on the scouting department or Daniels'/Hicks' choice to pick Purke. I place it more on the Rangers'/Hicks' financial constraints. If the situation wasn't so bad, then maybe Purke wouldn't have played hardball with us.
5. Saltalamacchia.
I've never seen a manager that doesn't get blamed for everything that goes wrong. I'm talking in every sport, in every city, and regardless of whether they're black, white , brown...or any color in between. I have also heard and read too many people praise the job Ron Washington has done, highlighted by the folks at ESPN, which is tantamount to national opinion since so many folks get their opinions from that programing.
Jim, I don't know about other people here but what color he is has no bearing on my opinion he is a poor game manager. He is not well thought of in statistical circles. If I just used that then his grade would be F. That is the part that gets me. He has a good locker room thing going, great, the statistical principles of the game of percentages can be learned. But he stubbornly uses his "gut" to the detriment of the team.
Jim,
1st we're racists, then when that doesn't stick because there's zero justification for it, well, we just don't like him, for some 'strange and unsettling" reason.
For the record, Washington is an inspirational person, he's a solid baseball lifer, he's old school baseball -which suits me to a tee. I give him an solid A as a baseball man, a C- as a manager.
I like him just fine. You? Not so much. What color were you again? It doesn't matter.
There are three places where young males think -no, they know - they are infallable. Behind the wheel, in the sack and in the dugout. Me? Well I reckon I could give lessons on performance in the first two locations....but I wouldn't have the arrogance to think I knew better than a baseball manager. There are dozens of moments before and during a game when a manager has to choose between alternatives, and it's inevitable that for any given decision that a few - or many - fans will disagree with that choice. Nothing wrong with that, it's a part of baseball. But when a fan says "I would have done that differently, therefore the manager made a mistake.", then healthy disagreement becomes unhealthy arrogance. And it becomes a no-win situation for a manager. For example, in a game a couple of months ago Feldman started and gave us five scoreless innings. In the sixth, however, the first three batters reached. Ron W replaced Feldman at this point (can't remember with whom) and all three inherited runners scored. I saw two posts (one here and one on "insde corner") which said (paraphrased slightly) "Washinton left Feldman in far too long. He skould be sacked.", and "Washington pulled Feldman far too early. He should be sacked." Healthy critiscism? Or a pair of arrogant fools? Either way, that's a pair of "F" grades for the manager. There is certainly a large (and growing?) cyber lynch mob that screams blue murder at just about everything that Ron W says or does, and I must confess to finding that both strange and more than a little repugnant when the Rangers are having such a good season. Racially motivated? Probably not, but I do remember a quote from a few years back that said, "There are two qualifications a baseball manager requires. He must be white, and he must have already failed elsewhere." (I think I read that in "Ball Four".) OK, attitudes have changed. There's not a hint of irrational hatred directed towards President Obama, is there? On the bright side, all this critisicm of Ron W is deflecting it from being directed at JD. This time last year just about every post revealed an uncanny knowledge of how a baseball organisation should be run. Should we take the present silence as muted praise?
Anthony, I laughed when I read your post. So true. My mind is not made up about Wash, but I think he has done well. Remember, what Swift and Toole said: "you can tell a true genius when he appears in this world, when a confederacy of dunces is aligned against him." I don't know that Wash is a genius, but I do know the folks who think he's an idiot are probably way off base.
1. C+ / B- Some of his moves look strange but the team has been better than the experts predicted each year he has been the manager. He also appears to have improved in his tenure with the Rangers. I would hope he continues to improve because he needs to get better. His first year he was pretty terrible but he has climbed up to mediocre as far as I can tell. His big strength is that the team never quits on him like it did Showalter. They play hard every game, run out ground balls and seem to really care. I don't think that was the case with Buck. They've also improved each year under Washington. Is all of that Washington or some of it that the system is providing better players? I don't know but but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. That said, I'd let his contract expire and not rehire him. I think there are better managers out there. Washington is fine for a team that is where the Rangers were three years ago.
I guess Jim never lived in New Jersey or NYC, you want a racist population go live there. Those places are scary racist!
2. I think it is just part of a season. I don't think that Millwood was as good as he looked early in the year. But it isn't fatigue so much as age. Holland and Hunter are rookies, you expect them to be inconsistent
3. Has happened should have happened a week ago
4. No, any drafted prospect that turns down several million dollars because he wants a couple of million more is a greedy idiot. If he blows his arm out next year he'll get nothing. If he doesn't then there is no guarantee he'll get more later. Bad move on his part. The Rangers appear to have made a good faith effort to sign him.
5. Salty is injured. He's the one I leave off.
1. Probably about a C.
2. The starters haven't been working as deep into the games, and it's been pressing the bullpen of late. Late in the year that's to be somewhat expected I guess - as is some regression from the pitching staff with the second-lowest BABIP and 5th highest FIP in the AL.
3. Tonight, apparently. I was expecting they'd wait until Sept. 1st, but I'm pleasantly surprised to see them make the move before a big series in NY.
4. Someone misjudged the supposed inside track that Nolan indicated we had, along with Purke's willingness to give a hometown discount. I don't know if I can really fault the Rangers for taking the risk with the guy whom I thought was the BPA though.
5. Might as well exlcude Salty, rather than rushing him back into action.
Why don't Joey or David/Spur ever answer these questions at the end of the day?
I don't think the majority's opinion of Washington is influenced by race. I'm sure some of it is. For a long time this season I had only seen two national media praise Washington for his job with the Rangers, and those two were Howard Bryant and Joe Morgan, two of the few black analysts for ESPN. But lately Jayson Stark and some others have admitted Wash is running neck and neck with Scoscia for manager of the year. That aside, I think people give Wash too much criticism for a few questionable strategic moves that dont work out. I for one see no reason that Andruw Jones ever hits cleanup anymore. But you know what? The Rangers won today. And they are 69-54, one game out of the wild card, when no one expected them to do this well. What were that dumb system PETCOA's projections? I think according to that the Rangers could win like ten more games all year. Washington has done a great job overall, and thats what matters.
1. C
2. Law of averages. Too many guys performing at unsustainable levels.
3. Tomorrow.
4. Yes - they took a gamble on Purke and lost.
5. Teagarden, although he is the one most likely to be the impact player in 2010 and beyond.
1. Clubhouse management - a solid A. Guys play hard for him, which says a lot. In-game management, I'd say a C-plus. Some good, some bad, but he's learning. Remember, he came up as a position coach, not a manager. He's better than last year and he'll be better next year.
2. Some fatigue. A brilliant move to give all the starters a day off this week instead of just skipping a start. The pen will need to take some of the short-term load, but I see the starters getting their wind back in September.
3. N/A (already has happened)
4. Purke was a high-risk gamble that didn't pan out. The good GMs sometimes take risks that don't work out for the club. It happens. Gotta get Scheppers signed, though, or it will be a disaster.
5. Pudge plus whoever is playing the best of the other two. I can't see them carry three catchers on the 25-man roster.
1 - For clubhouse impact he gets an A+. You can see those guys really playing hard, it looks like a great team concept. I'll give a B for tactical management. He's stuck with underperforming guys more than I would, and for the most part it's paid off. The one thing I really disagree with is his pitching matchups. For example, he tries using Guardado as a lefty specialist when the numbers clearly show he is better against right handed batters.
2 - I think you've got to expect these types of struggles with young pitchers. For the most part I think they've exceeded expectations.
3 - Although I was screaming for Davis to be sent down, Blalock has been even worse and doesn't play nearly as strong of a defensive first base. I think they have given it just about the right amount of time.
4 - I really don't understand what happened there. If Purke made that demand before the draft, and I'm pretty sure he did, why did they draft him? I think the guy the Rangers and a lot other teams are going to regret passing on is Jared Mitchell. That guy is a super athlete and is only going to get better.
5 - I think Salty should not make the postseason roster. Too many question marks there. I think the bigger question is do you start giving Pudge more playing time down the stretch at Teagarden's expense? Even at this point in their careers Pudge is clearly the better player.
It's impossible to know to what extent the evaluation of Washington is influenced by his race. Some evaluations are probably heavily influenced, and some not at all. I give most of the people who care enough about baseball to post here the benefit of the doubt. It's a given that managers get too much credit for success and too much blame for failure. I gave him a C because I think half of the potential managers would have done better than he has with this team, and half would have done worse. Next year will be a bigger challenge, when expectations will be higher and the historical odds of the Rangers finishing with a better record than this year will be against them. My guess is that the team has a different manager on Opening Day 2011.
"I guess Jim never lived in New Jersey or NYC, you want a racist population go live there. Those places are scary racist!"
LOL - I actually spent my formative years in NJ, and graduated high school in NJ - and I spent quite a lot of time as a young man in NYC. I never said racism was more prevalent down here - but that "open" racism is more accepted. In other words, I think racism is alive and well everywhere, but for some reason in Dallas it seems to be out in the open a lot more. Maybe that's a good thing - I don't know. I'm only going by my experiences.
I actually don't think the commenters here are racist, although I was surprised by some people assigning an "F" to the manager who somehow, despite having very little established talent, has his team 15 games over .500 in late August and poised for a run for the playoffs. But oh well.
But if you read the comments posted daily in the DMN blog for instance - you will see what I'm talking about if you choose to see it. It's certainly there.
But enough said.
1. C He has made some poor decision making with the bull pen. He is playing some players too much eg. Blalock and Kiensler.
2. I would call it lack of leadership. I heard Young talking after a loss and saying and he said someting like "it happens we just have to go out tomorrow and try to do better". He needs to start acting like a leader, kicking ass and taking names!
3. Davis is still a kid, he has a lot to prove.
4.They didn't loose much they get an extra pick next year to make up for it. It was worth the shot. It was a lot riskier choice for Purke. He passed up millions, now if he gets injured he's up the creek.
5.Salty should be traded. Teagarden is a much better catcher and batter. Compare their footwork and arm motion behind the plate. Salty is a hack.
Jarimillo, I think Rudy is the best there is at teaching someone to hit a fastball, but.......
He needs to stop letting people like Kiensler and Blalock swing for the fences every time. With his uppercut swing I am sure Kiensler leads the league in pop ups. He is a leadoff hitter, he needs to be hitting line drives, the home runs will come if he just hits.